Home & Garden Mimeo # HG 40

Indoor Redworm Composting

INTRODUCTION
Vermicomposting (from the Latin word vermis meaning
worm) is an efficient and enjoyable method for turning
kitchen food scraps into a rich compost. Composting with
redworms is becoming popular because it is easy and inex-
pensive to get started, can be done indoors in a small place
and is odorless. Perhaps most important, it can be a fascinat-
ing and educational project for children. This fact sheet is
designed to help you start your own plastic worm bin that is
21” long, x 15” wide x 5 - 8 inches deep (approximately 2.2
sq. ft.).
quickly. Light colored cocoons are produced continuously
which yield 2-3 baby worms in three weeks time. Redworms
breathe through their skin and must be kept moist at all times.
A BIN FOR ALLTHEIR KIN
Plastic storage bins with lids are highly recommended for
indoor use. They are inexpensive, durable and lightweight.
Your 2.2 sq.ft. bin can handle 2-3 lbs. of kitchen scraps each
week. Avoid deep containers (over 15”); they are heavy to
move and the bedding becomes compacted making it difficult
for the redworms to forage for food.

GETTING STARTED
Your home vermicomposting system will consist of a suitable
container, moist bedding, redworms and food scraps. Over a
period of months the food scraps and bedding will be digested
by the redworms. The end product, vermicompost, contains
worm castings (manure), decomposed bedding and lots of
worms and tiny organisms both dead and alive. It is dark,
crumbly and safe to handle and makes an excellent soil
conditioner and rich source of plant nutrients.
RED WORMS: THE RIGHT WORM
Redworms, known also as red wigglers or manure worms, are
surface feeders of dead plants and animals, commonly found
in moist leaf litter and manure piles. They are well-suited to
vermicomposting because they thrive in confinement and will
tolerate a wide range of conditions. Common garden worms
and night crawlers, on the other hand, will quickly die off in
a worm bin. Conversely, redworms do poorly in average
garden soil.
Drill a series of 1/4 - 1/2 inch holes in the bottom and lid of
your container to encourage good air circulation through the
bin. (Rigid plastic sometimes cracks when drilled. Use a
sharp drill bit and drill slowly). Set your bin on top of bricks
or scrap pieces of wood to allow air to enter the bottom of the
bin. Place bin on a plastic or metal tray to catch leachate. Add
this nutrient-rich leachate to water when watering houseplants.
BEDDING: MAKING THEIR HOUSE A HOME
Bedding provides your redworms with the cool, moist
environment they need to thrive. Your redworms will tunnel
through and digest the bedding along with the food scraps to
produce vermicompost. They will not crawl out of their bin
unless the bin becomes too dry or too wet. Hand-shredded
newspaper (color pages included) or corrugated cardboard,
ripped into thin strips, make convenient bedding materials.
Soak 4 lbs. of bedding in a bucket with 1 and 1/2 gallons of
water for a few minutes; drain off the excess water and place
the bedding loosely in your bin.

The two most commonly used redworm species are Eisenia
foetida and Lumbricus rubellus. You can purchase them for
$15 - $20 per pound (see “Sources”). You will need a
minimum of one pound of redworms for your small bin (500 -
1,000 worms). The redworms are 2"-4" in length and capable
of consuming their own weight each day in raw organic
matter. (One pound of worms will consume one pound of raw
matter. Measure the average amount of raw matter waste your
family generates per day, then estimate the number of worms
you will need.) Worms live for about one year and reproduce
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
When choosing a proper location for your worm bin, consider
convenience and aesthetics, as well as the environmental
needs of your redworms. They are most efficient at consum-
ing organic matter and reproducing when they are kept moist
and well ventilated in a temperature range of 55º-75ºF.
Redworms are sensitive to light so keep your bin covered and
out of direct sunlight. Basements, cool garages and kitchens
are all good locations. Your redworms will die at freezing
temperatures.

Educating People To Help Themselves

Local Governments - U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating
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of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Symons Hall, College Park, MD 20742. 1
FEEDING: THESE AREA FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS
Redworms require a steady supply of food scraps to grow and
multiply. Use a plastic container in your kitchen to collect
food scraps. Feed your worms 2-3 times each week by
burying appropriate food scraps directly under the bedding in
different locations. The smaller the food scraps, the quicker
they will be digested by your redworms. Use the chart below
in deciding what to put into your bin.
ADD THESE: BUT NOT THESE:
Coffee filters/grounds Meat/fat/bones
Tea bags/leaves Grease/oils
Fruits and vegetables1 Dairy products
Egg shells (crushed) Pet waste/litter
Cereal/bread Plastic wrap/tin foil
Chemicals, glass, metal
1
Do not add large amounts of raw onion, garlic, or citrus peels.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
• Fruit flies – bury food scraps beneath the bedding to
avoid fruit fly problems. Try flypaper on the lid underside
or a sticky yellow card placed next to the bin to attract fruit
flies.
• Odors may arise if too many food scraps are added at one
time. Discard rotting food; avoid adding scraps for a week.
• Too wet – bedding becomes compacted and smelly; air is
unable to flow through bin. Check drainage holes, stir
contents to increase airflow and add fresh, dry bedding.
HARVESTING AND USING WORM COMPOST
It will take your worms 6-8 weeks to produce a noticeable
amount of vermicompost. The castings appear as small,
dark, clumps that easily break apart. There are several
methods for removing the finished compost:
1. Every 3-4 months, stop feeding for a few weeks and rake
the compost to one side of the bin. Add fresh bedding to
the other side; only add food scraps to the new bedding.
Within a few months your worms will move into the new
bedding allowing you to harvest the finished compost.
Refill the empty end of the bin with fresh bedding and
bury more food scraps.
2. Every 3-4 months dump your entire bin contents into
several piles on a sheet of plastic in a brightly lit room. The
worms will dive to the pile bottom. Remove finished
compost from the tops and sides of the piles.
3. Every 3-4 months remove 2/3 of the bin contents for use in
the garden. Add new bedding and slowly build up your
worm population.
4. Stop feeding after 4-6 months and allow the worms to
completely digest all of the bedding and food scraps. The
result is a fine, homogeneous compost (pure worm
castings) with very few redworms.
You can add vermicompost to seedbeds or planting holes or
use it as a top dressing during the growing season for your
favorite plants. Or try adding the vermicompost to your
potting mix for houseplants or outdoor container plants (1/4 by
volume). Pure worm castings may have a high soluble salt
content; use them sparingly and avoid direct contact with the
roots of seedlings.
Authors: Jon Traunfeld, Regional Specialist, Home and
Garden Information Center, Rondalyn Reeser, Central
Maryland Research & Education Center
Reviewed by: Louis Shell, Horticulture Consultant, Home and
Garden Information Center.
References:
NRAES-43. Composting to Reduce the Waste Stream,
Northeast Regional Agricultural Extension Service,
152 Riley-Robb Hall, Cooperative Extension,
Ithaca, NY 14853. 44 pp.
Appelhof, M. 1997. Worms Eat My Garbage. Flower Press,
Kalamazoo, MI. 162 pp. (www.wormwoman.com)
Kalman, B. and J. Schaub. 1992. Squirmy Wormy
Composters. Crabtree Pub.Co. 32 pp.
Edible City Resource Center. Worm Digest (quarterly).
P.O. Box 544, Eugene, OR 97440-0998
(http://www.wormdigest.org)
Sources for Redworms:
Flowerfield Enterprisees – 10332 Shaver Road, Kalamazoo, MI
49002. (269) 327-0108. (Also sells worm bin kits)
(http://www.wormwoman.com)
Gardeners Supply Co. – 128 Intervale Road, Burlington, VT
05401. (800) 833-1412, minimum 2lb order- available spring and
summer only. (http://www.vg.com)
Vermico, Peter Bogdanov, 4425 Galice Road, Merlin, OR 97532.
(541) 476-9626 (http://www.vermico.com)
Willingham Worm Farm – Route 1, Box 241, Butler, GA 31006.
(478) 862-5545, e-mail: wworm@gnat.net
Checks only, no credit cards
Worm World – 26 Ihnat Lane, Avella, PA 15312-2106.
(724)356-2397 (http://www.wormwrld.com)
Mention of individual businesses does not constitute an endorsement
by Maryland Cooperative Extension, University of Maryland,
College Park, MD HG-40 (Rev. 1/03)
Have a home pest or garden question?
Call the Home and Garden Information Center
1-800-342-2507
www.hgic.umd.edu
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